This invention relates to game playing methods for gaming machines, such as video slot machines and video poker machines, or for tracked table games. More particularly, the present invention relates to methods and apparatus of allowing game players to participate in loyalty programs on gaming machines and during other gaming activities.
As technology in the gaming industry progresses, the traditional mechanically driven reel slot machines are being replaced or supplemented with electronic counterparts having CRT, LCD video displays or the like and gaming machines such as video slot machines and video poker machines are becoming increasingly popular. Part of the reason for their increased popularity is the nearly endless variety of games that can be implemented on gaming machines utilizing advanced electronic technology. In some cases, newer gaming machines are utilizing computing architectures developed for personal computers. These video/electronic gaming advancements enable the operation of more complex games, which would not otherwise be possible on mechanical-driven gaming machines and allow the capabilities of the gaming machine to evolve with advances in the personal computing industry.
Typically, utilizing a master gaming controller, the gaming machine controls various combinations of devices that allow a player to play a game on the gaming machine and also encourage game play on the gaming machine. For example, a game played on a gaming machine usually requires a player to input money or indicia of credit into the gaming machine, indicate a wager amount, and initiate a game play. These steps require the gaming machine to control input devices, including bill validators and coin acceptors, to accept money into the gaming machine and recognize user inputs from devices, including touch screens and button pads, to determine the wager amount and initiate game play.
After game play has been initiated, the gaming machine determines a game outcome, presents the game outcome to the player and may dispense an award of some type depending on the outcome of the game. A game outcome presentation may utilize many different visual and audio components such as flashing lights, music, sounds and graphics. The visual and audio components of the game outcome presentation may be used to draw a players attention to various game features and to heighten the players interest in additional game play. Maintaining a game player's interest in game play, such as on a gaming machine or during other gaming activities, is an important consideration for an operator of a gaming establishment.
One related method of gaining and maintaining a game player's interest in game play is loyalty point programs, such as player tracking programs, offered at various casinos. Loyalty point programs provide rewards to players that typically correspond to the player's level of patronage (e.g., to the player's playing frequency and/or total amount of game plays at a given casino). Loyalty point rewards may be free meals, free lodging and/or free entertainment. These rewards may help to sustain a game player's interest in additional game play during a visit to a gaming establishment and may entice a player to visit a gaming establishment to partake in various gaming activities.
In general, loyalty programs may be applied to any game of chance offered at a gaming establishment. An example of a hardware and/or software implementation of a loyalty reward program with respect to a number of gaming machines is described as follows. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a number of gaming machines with player tracking units connected to servers providing player tracking services. In casino 150, gaming machines 100, 101, 102 and 103 are connected, via the data collection unit (DCU) to the player tracking/accounting server 120. The DCU 106, which may be connected to up to 32 player tracking units in a particular example, consolidates the information gathered from player tracking units in communication with the DCU 106 and forwards the information to a player tracking account server such as 120.
In another casino 151, a different player tracking server 121 is connected to gaming machines 130 and 131. In yet another casino 152, a separate player tracking server 122 is connected to gaming machines 132 and 133.
In gaming machine 100 of casino 150, a player tracking unit 107 and slot machine interface board (SMIB) 103 are mounted within a main cabinet 8 of the gaming machine. A top box 130 is mounted on top of the main cabinet 8 of the gaming machine. In many types of gaming machines, the player tracking unit is mounted within the top box 130. Usually, player tracking units, such as 107, and SMIBs, such as 103, are manufactured as separate units before installation into a gaming machine. The player tracking unit 107 includes three player tracking devices, a card reader 24, a key pad 22, and a display 16, all mounted within the unit.
The player tracking unit 107 communicates with the player tracking server via the SMIB 103, a main communication board 110 and the data collection unit 106. The player tracking unit 107 is usually connected to the master gaming controller 104 via a serial connection of some type and communicates with the master gaming controller 104 using a communication protocol of some type. For example, the master gaming controller 104 may employ a subset of the Slot Accounting System (SAS protocol) developed by International Game Technology of Reno, Nev. to communicate with the player tracking unit 107.
Typically, when a game player wants to play a game on a gaming machine and utilize the player tracking services available through the player tracking unit, a game player inserts a player tracking card, such as a magnetic striped card, into the card reader 24. After the magnetic striped card has been so inserted, the player tracking unit 107 may detect this event and receive certain identification information contained on the card. For example, a player's name, address, and player tracking account number encoded on the magnetic striped card, may be received by the player tracking unit 107. In general, a player must provide identification information of some type to utilize player tracking services available on a gaming machine. For current player tracking programs, the most common approach for providing identification information is to issue a magnetic-striped card storing the necessary identification information to each player that wishes to participate in a given player tracking program.
After a player has inserted her or his player tracking card into the card reader 24, the player tracking unit 107 may command the display 16 to display the game player's name on the display 16 and also, may optionally display a message requesting the game player to validate their identity by entering an identification code using the key pad 22. Once the game player's identity has been validated, the player tracking information is relayed to the player tracking server 120. Typically, the player tracking server 120 stores player tracking account records including the number of player tracking points previously accumulated by the player.
During game play on the gaming machine, the player tracking unit 120 may poll the master gaming controller 104 for game play information such as how much money the player has wagered on each game, the time when each game was initiated and the location of the gaming machine. The game play information is sent by the player tracking unit 107 to the player tracking server 120. While a player tracking card is inserted in the card reader 24, the player tracking server 120 may use the game play information provided by the player tracking unit 107 to generate player tracking points and add the points to a player tracking account identified by the player tracking card. The player tracking points generated by the player tracking server 120 are stored in a memory of some type on the player tracking server.
As suggested above, a player's incentive for using the player tracking services is awards provided by the gaming machine operator (e.g., the casino). Unfortunately, when player tracking identification information is not provided to the player tracking server 120 via the player tracking unit 107, player tracking points are not accrued for a game player participating in a game play session on gaming machine 100. For example, when a player tracking card is not inserted into the card reader 24, the player tracking card has been inserted incorrectly or the card reader is malfunctioning, a game player may not obtain player tracking points while participating in game play on gaming machine 100. This happens more frequently than one might imagine. Very often a player will forget to bring his/her playing card to a casino, or leave the card in his/her room, or possibly return from the swimming pool without a card and decide to play anyway.
Also, when the player uses a player tracking card that is incompatible with gaming machine 100, such as a player tracking card issued at another casino, player tracking points are not awarded to the player. Typically, each casino implements a player tracking program with player tracking cards that may only be used to earn player tracking points only at the casino where the card was issued. For instance, casino 150 may issue a player tracking card that is only valid at casino 150, casino 151 may issue a player tracking card that is only valid at casino 151, and casino 152 may issue a player tracking card that is only valid at casino 152. In this example, the player may be a member of the player tracking programs available at each of casinos 150, 151 and 152. Thus, when a player tries to use the card issued at casino 151 in casino 150 or in casino 152, the card will not work and the player will not earn player tracking points.
In many gaming establishments, loyalty programs that allow a player to earn “complimentaries” or “comps”, such as free rooms/buffets/shows etc., during table game play are very common. A player may earn “comps” for playing table games, such as black jack, baccarat, pai gow poker, keno and roulette. Depending on the gaming establishment, a loyalty program based upon table game play may or may not be combined with a loyalty program based upon slot game play.
Comps at table games are awarded using a rating system. To get rated, a player must give their name to a casino service representative every time they sit down to play a table game. The player must supply their name even if they have only moved from one table to an adjacent table. During the player's game play at the table, a casino service representative, such as a pit boss, keeps track of, or rates, the player. This means that the casino service person writes down how much a player buys in for, what his average bet is, how fast they play, how long they play and how much they win or lose. When the player leaves the table their rating is handed in. The game play information from their table gaming session is entered into a computer usually connected a remote server that stores a record of the player's game playing history. If the player then asks for dinner for two at the coffee shop the pit boss can look up their game play history and, based on guidelines, which may vary from casino to casino, decide whether or not a comp is justified. When a comp is justified, the pit boss can offer the player a voucher valid for the requested comp.
Player tracking/comp cards and player tracking/comp programs are becoming more and more popular. They have become a de facto method of doing business at casinos. A player may belong to many different player tracking/comp programs and have many different player tracking cards corresponding to each program to which they belong. For example, a single player may belong to as many as 20-30 separate player tracking programs and have 20-30 player tracking cards. As indicated, a disadvantage of current player tracking programs using player tracking cards is that a game player may simply forget to bring her card, lose her card, bring the wrong card, or forget to insert it into the gaming machine. In each of these cases, the player will fail to earn player tracking points. The casino is deprived of valuable marketing information and loyalty incentive and the player is deprived of awards that would otherwise be provided.
In view of the above, it would be desirable to provide apparatus and methods for player tracking programs that eliminate factors that can prevent the initiation of a player tracking session on a gaming machine.